Section 402 of the Clean Water Act is entitled, the “National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System” (NPDES), and is the driver for environmental compliance pertaining to stormwater discharge permits for construction activities. Known as Construction General Permits (CGP), and varying slightly from (EPA-delegated) state to state (non-delegated states administer the EPA/Federal CGP guidelines verbatim), they require, among other activities and documentation, routine site inspections and documentation of results.
Site inspections focus on identifying any corrective actions necessary to minimize exposure of pollutants to stormwater runoff from the site. Minimization of stormwater pollution is achieved via the use of structural and non-structural Best Management Practices. Presently, software exists to assist permittees in the logging of corrective actions (description of correction, prescription of a fix, and the date noted), and the tracking of when the corrections are completed per item (date completed). The duration of time from date noted to date completed is regulated. However, paper records continued to be maintained on constructions sites for extended periods of time. What is needed, then, are computer-assisted approaches to reduce or even eliminate paper records on construction sites to bring the construction industry up to the modern day for compliance with the Clean Water Act.